The Latest: Chevron lawyer: No debate about climate science

The Latest on a tutorial on climate change before a federal judge in San Francisco (all times local):

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12 p.m.

An attorney for oil giant Chevron says the company does not dispute the findings of an international panel of scientists that it is extremely likely humans are the dominant cause of global warming since the mid-1900s.

Theodore Boutrous spoke Wednesday in San Francisco at what could be the first court hearing to study climate change science.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup asked lawyers for two California cities and five of the world's largest oil and gas companies to present the best science now available on global warming.

Alsup is considering lawsuits filed by San Francisco and neighboring Oakland accusing Chevron and four other big oil companies of lying about the role of fossil fuels in global warming to protect their profits.

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Boutrous said Chevron does not dispute climate change science.

But he pointed out how thinking about climate change has evolved and said the company does not agree with all of the proposals to deal with global warming.

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9:15 a.m.

A federal judge holding what could be the first court hearing to study climate change says he wants to stick to the science and avoid politics associated with the topic.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup said at the start of the hearing on Wednesday that the effort he called for is a serious attempt to try to educate him about global warming.

He first heard from Myles Allen, a professor at the University of Oxford who studies human influences on climate.

Alsup is considering lawsuits filed by San Francisco and neighboring Oakland accusing big oil companies of lying about the role of fossil fuels in global warming to protect their profits.

The two cities want the companies to pay for sea walls and other infrastructure to protect against the effects of climate change.

The companies argue Congress encouraged oil and gas development.

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11:30 p.m.

A federal judge hearing lawsuits that accuse big oil companies of lying about climate change is turning his courtroom into a classroom.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup has asked lawyers for two California cities and five of the world's largest oil and gas companies to present the best science now available on global warming.

Legal observers say they've never previously heard of a court holding a tutorial on climate change, and they are eager to see how the oil companies explain global warming on Wednesday.

Alsup is considering two lawsuits filed by San Francisco and neighboring Oakland against Chevron, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, BP and Royal Dutch Shell.

They allege the companies mounted campaigns to downplay the risks of global warming and discredit research that human activity was to blame